| Reds | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Warren Beatty |
| Screenplay by |
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| Produced by | Warren Beatty |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Vittorio Storaro |
| Edited by | |
| Music by | |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 195 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Languages |
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| Budget | $32 million |
| Box office | $40.4 million[2] |
Reds is a 1981 Americanepichistorical drama film co-written, produced, and directed byWarren Beatty, about the life and career ofJohn Reed, the journalist and writer who chronicled theOctober Revolution in Russia in his 1919 bookTen Days That Shook the World. Beatty stars in the lead role alongsideDiane Keaton as activistLouise Bryant andJack Nicholson as playwrightEugene O'Neill.
The supporting cast includesEdward Herrmann,Jerzy Kosiński,Paul Sorvino,Maureen Stapleton,Gene Hackman,Ramon Bieri,Nicolas Coster, andM. Emmet Walsh. The film also features, as "witnesses", interviews with the 98-year-old radical educator and peace activistScott Nearing, authorDorothy Frooks, reporter and authorGeorge Seldes,civil liberties advocateRoger Baldwin, and writerHenry Miller, among others.George Jessel, whodied shortly before the film was released in December 1981, would make an appearance inReds[3] as one of numerous contemporaries of Reed and Bryant who were shown in interviews.[4][5]
Reds was released on December 4, 1981, to widespread critical acclaim. Beatty was awarded theAcademy Award for Best Director and the film was nominated forBest Picture, but lost toChariots of Fire. Beatty, Keaton, Nicholson, and Stapleton were nominated forBest Actor,Best Actress,Best Supporting Actor, andBest Supporting Actress, respectively, with Stapleton winning her category.[a] Beatty became the third person to be nominated for Academy Awards in the categories Best Director, Actor, and, with co-writerTrevor Griffiths,Original Screenplay—losing again toChariots of Fire—for a film nominated for Best Picture.[b]
In June 2008, theAmerican Film Institute revealed "AFI's 10 Top 10"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the film community.Reds came in ninth in the epic genre.[6]
In 1915, married journalist and suffragistLouise Bryant encounters the radical journalistJohn Reed for the first time at a lecture inPortland, Oregon, and is intrigued with his idealism. After meeting him for an interview on international politics that lasts an entire night, she realizes that writing has been her only escape from her frustrated existence. Inspired to leave her husband, Bryant joins Reed inGreenwich Village,New York City, and becomes acquainted with the local community of activists and artists, including anarchist and authorEmma Goldman and playwrightEugene O'Neill.
Later, they move toProvincetown, Massachusetts, to concentrate on their writing, becoming involved in the local theater scene. Through her writing, Bryant becomes known as a feminist and radical in her own right. Reed becomes involved in labor strikes with the "Reds" of theIndustrial Workers of the World. Obsessed with changing the world, he grows restless and heads forSt. Louis to cover the1916 Democratic National Convention.
During Reed's absence, Bryant falls into a complicated affair with O'Neill. Upon his return, Reed discovers the affair and realizes he still loves Bryant. The two marry secretly and make a home together inCroton-on-Hudson, New York, but still have conflicting desires. When Reed admits his own infidelities, Bryant takes a ship to Europe to work as a war correspondent.
After a flareup of a kidney disorder results in his having one removed, Reed is warned to avoid excessive travel or stress, but decides to take the same path as Louise and goes to Europe. Reunited as professionals, the two find their passion rekindled as they travel to Russia and are swept up in the fall of the czarist regime and theevents of the 1917 Revolution.
After returning to the United States, Reed writesTen Days That Shook the World, while Louise is called to testify in front of theOverman Committee. In order to implement the communist ideals he saw in Russia, Reed becomes active in theSocialist Party of America's newLeft Wing Section. The Socialist Party soon undergoes a major political shift, with Reed and the Left Wing elected to 12 of its National Executive Committee's 15 seats, but the sitting members of the Committee prevent a takeover of the party by invalidating the election and expelling the entire Left Wing. Differing ideology among the expelled members causes them to splinter into two rival organizations, with Reed forming theCommunist Labor Party of America. Anxious to establish his group as the United States' true Communist Party, Reed plans to return to Russia to secure official recognition from the SovietComintern. Having grown tired of the political infighting, Bryant threatens to end their relationship if he goes, but he does so anyway, promising to be home by Christmas.
As it was now illegal to travel to Russia, Reed enters the country by traveling toFinland and sneaking across the border. Once there, though, he grows disillusioned with the authoritarian policies theBolsheviks have imposed upon communist Russia. Reed attempts to leave and return to Bryant, but is imprisoned in Finland after being caught trying to cross the border. After learning of his arrest, Louise seeks the U.S. government's help in securing his release, but it refuses, as in his absence, he has been indicted on charges ofsedition.
With no other recourse, Louise illegally travels to Finland herself, but by the time she arrives, Reed has been returned to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange between the two countries.
Now living inPetrograd, Reed is employed as apropagandist with the Comintern, and shares an apartment with Emma Goldman, who had been deported from the U.S. Unaware that Louise has traveled to Finland, he repeatedly tries to make contact with her by sending telegrams to New York and becomes increasingly frustrated by the lack of response. Louise makes her way to Petrograd, where she is found by Emma, who tells her Reed was sent todeliver a speech inBaku.
During his return to Petrograd, the czaristWhite Army attacks Reed's train. Reed survives the attack and is reunited with Louise at the train station. Soon thereafter, he is admitted to the hospital withtyphus, and Louise cares for him. On his last day, they have loving words for each other. Louise goes down the hall to get him water and returns to find him dead. She enters his room, takes his hand, and sits by his bed.
Beatty came across the story of John Reed in the mid-1960s. Executive producer and film editorDede Allen remembers Beatty's mentioning making a film about Reed's life as early as 1966. Originally titledComrades, the first script was written by Beatty in 1969,[c] but the process stalled. In 1973, Beatty was offered the role of Reed inSergei Bondarchuk's Soviet film productionRed Bells, but declined, and felt further driven to make his own biopic about Reed to compete with the Soviet version.[8]
In 1976, Beatty found a suitable collaborator inTrevor Griffiths, who began work but was delayed by his wife's death in a plane crash.[9] The preliminary draft of the script was finished in 1978. Beatty still had problems with it and he and Griffiths spent four and a half months fixing it. Beatty also collaborated with his friendsRobert Towne,Peter Feibleman, andElaine May to continue polishing the script after shooting had begun.[10][11]
Beatty achieved tremendous success with 1978'sHeaven Can Wait, which he produced, starred in, co-wrote and co-directed forParamount Pictures. The success gave Beatty the clout to seek funding for his long nurturedReds project, which was difficult to secure because of the controversialcommunist subject matter and high price tag. Beatty succeeded in interesting bothWarner Bros. and Paramount, before the head ofGulf & Western (Paramount's parent company),Charles Bluhdorn, agreed to finance the project. Bluhdorn soon had second thoughts, and attempted to dissuade Beatty with the promise of underwriting a $25 million alternative toReds of Beatty's choice, but Beatty remained committed.[9]
Beatty originally had no intention of acting in the film or even directing it because he had learned on projects such asBonnie and Clyde (1967) andHeaven Can Wait (1978) that producing a film alone is a difficult task. He briefly consideredJohn Lithgow for the part of John Reed because the two were similar in appearance, but eventually Beatty decided to act in the film and direct it himself. Nicholson was cast as Eugene O'Neill overJames Taylor andSam Shepard.[9] Nicholson was older than the young O'Neill he was playing, and having just completed work onKubrick'sThe Shining (1980), was in a "most shambolic" and "grotesque" physical state, according to producerSimon Relph. But Nicholson was committed to the role and appeared at the start of filming four months later having lost the weight he had gained and looking much younger.[9]
Beatty also chose to cast non-actors in supporting roles, includingGeorge Plimpton, the editor ofThe Paris Review, who played the character of Horace Whigham.Jerzy Kosiński, a Polish American novelist, was asked to play the role ofGrigory Zinoviev, but he initially refused because he was a fierce anti-communist and feared that he might be abducted by theKGB if he went to Finland to film.[9]
To gain perspective on the lives of Reed and Bryant, Beatty filmed interviews with a group of men and women, referred to only as "The Witnesses", as early as 1971.American Film identified the witnesses in its March 1982 issue.[12]
In a capsule review forThe New York Times, film criticVincent Canby refers to them as "more than two dozen very, very old people, billed only as The Witnesses, whom Mr. Beatty interviewed about the Reeds and their long-gone times." He went on to say, "More than anything else inReds, these interviews give the film its poignant point of view and separate it from all other romantic adventure films ever made."[13] "The most evocative aspect of the presentation is a documentary enhancement – interviews with a number of venerable 'witnesses,' whose recollections of the period help to set the scene, bridge transitions and preserve a touching human perspective", wrote Gary Arnold ofThe Washington Post.[14]
When principal photography began in August 1979 the original intention was for a 15- to 16-week shoot, but it ultimately took one year. Filming took place in five countries and at various points the crew had to wait for snow to fall inHelsinki (and other parts of Finland), which stood in for theSoviet Union, and for rain to stop in Spain. Beatty asked the Soviet government for a permit to film in Moscow but was denied.[8] A cottage inKent was used to depict exteriors of the Reeds' home inCroton-on-Hudson, which in reality was a small early Americansaltbox house. The interior sets built atTwickenham Studios andEMI-Elstree Studios were also enlarged to evoke the "flavor" of the real home without reproducing it exactly.[15]
Other English locations includedFrensham Ponds in Surrey, which stood in forProvincetown, the Smeaton Room of theInstitution of Civil Engineers atOne Great George Street for the Liberal Club meeting room in Portland, and the interior ofLancaster House for that of theWinter Palace in St. Petersburg.[16] Another round of filming began in 1980 inNew York City,Washington D.C., andLos Angeles, including Paramount Studios.[8]
The Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro was banned from shooting the scenes shot in the U.S. after he was unable to gain anH-1B visa and because localtrade unions blocked him from doing work on the film. The film encountered similar problems withtrade unions in the United Kingdom, and had to hire a separate British crew and pay British actors enrolled inEquity atScreen Actors Guild-rate salaries in order to allow American actors to film scenes in the U.K. These trade disputes caused the film to run heavily over budget, but the studio ultimately recouped its costs after financing the film with a low-interest loan fromBarclays as part of atax-shelter plan.[8] Later saying the film "broke even, plus change", Paramount headBarry Diller added, "I'm proud we madeReds. I'm also proud we protected ourselves in every way known to man".[17]
ActressMaureen Stapleton was due to begin shooting her scenes in London in November 1979, but she refused to take a plane because of a fear of flying. Because it was the wrong season forocean liner travel, the production had to arrange for Stapleton to travel on atramp steamer, which broke down in theNorth Atlantic and had to be towed toAmsterdam.[9] This caused another unwelcome delay. Beatty would also not stop the camera betweentakes, letting it roll continuously, and insisted on a large number of takes. Paul Sorvino said he did as many as 70 takes for one scene; Stapleton had to do 80 takes of one scene, which caused her to say to Beatty, "Are you out of your fucking mind?"[9]
Beatty and Keaton's romantic relationship also began to deteriorate during filming.Peter Biskind wrote about the making ofReds, "Beatty's relationship with Keaton barely survived the shoot. It is always a dicey proposition when an actress works with a star or director—both, in this case—with whom she has an offscreen relationship. Keaton appeared in more scenes than any other actor save Beatty, and many of them were difficult ones, where she had to assay a wide range of feelings, from romantic passion to anger, and deliver several lengthy, complex, emotional speeches." George Plimpton once observed, "Diane almost got broken. I thought [Beatty] was trying to break her into what Louise Bryant had been like with John Reed." Executive producerSimon Relph adds, "It must have been a strain on their relationship because he was completely obsessive, relentless."[9]
The editing process began in early 1980, with as many as 65 people working on editing down and going over approximately 2.5 million feet of film.[9] Post-production ended in November 1981, more than two years after the start of filming. Paramount stated that the final cost of the film was $32 million, the rough equivalent of $80 million in 2007[9] and $122 million in 2024.
The film introduced the song "Goodbye for Now", written byStephen Sondheim, recorded byJean-Pierre Rampal andClaude Bolling. The song was later recorded byBarbra Streisand forThe Movie Album (2003).
Released on December 4, 1981,Reds opened to widespread critical acclaim. Despite its political subject matter and limited promotion by Beatty, the film became the13th-highest-grossing picture of 1981, grossing $40 million in U.S. box office revenues, a figure that does not include the film's foreign box office revenues or its substantial subsequent earnings in home video, worldwide broadcast and cable television, and subscription television and streaming services.[2] Beatty later remarked that the film "made a little money" in box office returns. During the film's second and third weekends, there were concerns that it would become a massive flop likeHeaven's Gate, but it performed more strongly over the next month. The film was screened at theWhite House for PresidentRonald Reagan.[8]
Reds holds a 90% "Fresh" rating on thereview aggregate websiteRotten Tomatoes based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 7.90/10. The site's consensus reads, "Brawny in both intellect and scope,Reds is an intimate epic that captures the tumult of revolutionary change and the passion of those navigating through it."[18] OnMetacritic, the film has a score of 76 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[19]
John Simon of theNational Review wrote, "Never exactly boring, sometimes entertaining,Reds is frequently irritating and finally disappointing".[20]Commentary published a largely negative review byRichard Grenier, who, among other things, saw the film as deliberately obscuring the protagonists' communist politics and as exaggerating Bryant's talent and accomplishments.[21] Conversely, in a retrospective article forJacobin, Jim Poe calledReds "one of the greatest and most faithful depictions of revolutionary politics", praising its "light touch and brisk storytelling" for an epic, as well as its cinematography, shifts in mood and performances, in particular those of Keaton and Beatty.[22]
The February 2020 issue ofNew York Magazine listsReds as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars."[23]
The film is recognized by theAmerican Film Institute in these lists: